Maria Konnikova discovered that poker strategies have astonishing real-life applications. — After a spate of back-to-back unfortunate events upended her life through the course of a year, Maria Konnikova, a Harvard and Columbia-trained psychologist and author, decided that she wanted to find a way to tame that fickle mistress in our lives, lady luck. She began her journey by reading everything…

How a strategy I borrowed from my weight-loss journey helped me get out of credit card debt. I’ve struggled with saving money for a long time. I’m someone who prefers maximizing experiences and having a good time as opposed to cold, hard accounting of my finances. This was mainly a…

This exceedingly simple system can change your life for the better. — I want you to do something right now. Open your journal (if you don’t have one — a blank sheet of paper will suffice), pick up your pen, and write down that one daily task you keep telling yourself that you’ll get to, but somehow never do. …

A powerful mind hack that can help you get over your fears. — You may be reading the news or you have sworn off it already. In either case, I don’t blame you. Why would you willingly subject yourself to a never-ending stream of conflicting reports about the strange phenomenon that’s uprooting our lives? …

The eternal truths found in a wise King’s answer to a demon. — Not long after homosapiens discovered language and writing, the study of the human condition and its ails has received much scrutiny. Even before the prophets of the Abrahamic Faiths rose to prominence, the Buddha himself claimed to have the secrets to mitigate suffering. The years hence has seen the proliferation…

The principles behind getting good at gaming have real-world applications. — In my Junior year in college in 2004, I was introduced to a new group of people through a mutual friend. Being poor college students, hanging out in someone’s apartment, watching TV, and playing video games were cheap ways to pass the time. …

How visualizing life as a quest helps you make radical changes. — Think of your favourite work of fiction. Chances are that the story doesn’t start at the protagonist’s birth; instead, the narrative begins with just another day in the life of the Hero/Heroine. Something happens that changes everything and results in a cascade of events filled with dramatic tension and conflict. …

How an ancient Hindu Epic provides us with valuable clues towards a fulfilling life. — In the Bhagavad-Gita, a 2000-year old epic poem from India, two ancient armies face each other, ready to battle. The conflict is between groups of cousins — the Pandavas and Kauravas — for the right to rule a kingdom called Hastinapura. The Kingdom is the Pandavas’ birthright, but they lost…

What a documentary about Bill Gates taught me about a life worth living. — A few weeks back I was watching the Netflix documentary — ‘Inside Bill’s Brain’ — hoping to gain an insight into what made the Microsoft founder such an effective achiever. The documentary was eye-opening, but not for the reasons that I expected. A couple of episodes into the series, I…